


Betrayal

by RileyMasters



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [20]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Because of Reasons, Betrayal, Family Issues, FebuWhump2021, Gen, Presumed Dead, but not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:02:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29602872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RileyMasters/pseuds/RileyMasters
Summary: Day Twenty of Febuwhump 2021.It wasn’t that he went looking for her.No, he knew she was dead. He was the one who had to read the notice, who held their mom when she collapsed in shock. When that Marine told them that Nile had been killed in action.
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139807
Kudos: 20
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is dedicated to certain people on the Immortal Disasters Discord who so *ahem* lovingly got me addicted to 9-1-1. Considering I've been watching for four days and I've about to finish season two... I hate you all and know that I blame you for everything. (Also Buck and Eddie are adorable. Please let them be happy and healthy and marry and raise Christopher together.) ~Remy
> 
> Also, someone used the name Layne for Nile's brother (in relation to Kiki Layne's last name), so I've adapted to it and love it.

It wasn’t that he went looking for her. 

No, he knew she was dead. He was the one who had to read the notice, who held their mom when she collapsed in shock. When that Marine told them that Nile had been killed in action.

He knew she was gone. She had a full service. Her friends from all around the neighborhood all came. So did every family friend that had helped them out when Dad had died. But it still was soul crushing, seeing his mom try to stay strong in the face of this again.

In the months following, he threw himself into his studies. With Nile’s death, he knew he could never follow in her and their dad’s footsteps. It would break their mom. And he just couldn’t hurt her. Not after she’d been destroyed twice, and was just finally rebuilding herself again.

It happened at random. He was scrolling on Instagram, just random tags as he felt like it. And he saw her. In the background of a photo, but there she was. He knew her smile anywhere.

She was with two older men. All three in casual wear, strolling through a modern building. He looked at the location tag - the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In  _ fucking _ California.

That name tugged on an old memory, so he quickly snuck into her old bedroom. It wasn’t that he wasn’t allowed to be in there, but no one had been in her room since she left, except for their mom who would change the sheets every two weeks without fail. Since she… it was like it was a tomb.

Within two seconds, he found what he was looking for. Taped to the side of her mirror was a list of museums in the world that she wanted to tour, once she left the service. And number twelve was the Getty Museum, LA.

He started searching for photos taken the same day and time as that photo. And there were more. All shot with her in the background, an unintentional intruder into these people’s memories.

His hands shook. They’d buried her. She was dead. Nile was never coming home.

And yet there she was, living her best life, arm and arm with two strangers. As if she didn’t have people at home worried about her, that missed her. He was holding back his temper, but it was tight. She’d promised to take him with her when she went world travelling. This… this hurt.

He checked the date again. Most of the photos had been posted just an hour prior. There was a chance. A small chance, but a chance nonetheless. There were seventeen museums in the Los Angeles area on her list. Knowing his sister, she’d want to see them all.

He took a second to breathe. Was he about to do something crazy? Probably. Was he going to tell his mother? Absolutely not. Luckily it was spring break. He could fake a trip to LA. He was working, he had the money. It was supposed to be for paying his student loans once he graduated from college, but this was more important.

With one last glance in the mirror, Layne Freeman started looking for flights to Los Angeles. He lost his sister once. He wouldn’t do it again.

**Author's Note:**

> If someone spots the obvious reference to one of the TOG castmate's other works, I will write you a quick one shot once Febuwhump is over with. Because I couldn't resist. The joke wrote itself. <3


End file.
